


Piscis

by Bae_ta



Category: Paladins: Champions Of The Realm (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Jenos needs a merman skin, Lian and Khan being themselves, Mermaid/Merman fantasy au, Not a Jenos/Ying ship, as always
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 01:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20300857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bae_ta/pseuds/Bae_ta
Summary: He was exactly as her ancestors described: humanoid from the waist up with a long slender, fish-like tail. Silvery blue hair flowed behind him, its length reaching past the start of his equally gorgeous blue tail.“He's beautiful.” Lady Lian gushed as she stared into his near glowing silver eyes, unwilling to look away.Her collection was now complete.





	Piscis

The mug slammed down upon the wooden table along with the fist that clutched its handle with near white knuckles. The chatter amongst the sailors hushed as all eyes turned in attention toward their captain. Said man turned to glare at the passerby with a snarl at the reminder of the experience he and his men had just earlier that day.

“What's got me upset, you say?” he replied surprisingly calmer than what his body portrayed. “Why don't ya take a seat here,” he suggested, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the table in front of him. And with one look, the rest of his men returned to their drinks and the usual chatter filled the air once more.

He was a large man, built like a soldier and as tall as they came. He took the seat the captain offered and remained quiet to hear what the sailor had to say.

“Do you know who I am?” the captain questioned as he lit a cigar followed by an inhale. His chair was tilted back to let his feet rest on the table.

“No,” his new friend answered, short and simple.

“The name’s Captain Dredge. Me and my men here are whalers.” He blew out a puff of smoke, “Do you know what whalers do?”

The man glanced around, almost the entire tavern was filled with his crew as they watched them out of the corner of their eyes. He could feel the tension in the air.

He turned back to Dredge, “You catch whales.”

“Aye, we catch whales.” Dredge tapped the ash off of his cigar, “And you know what?” He could see the anger in the whaler's eye as he repositioned his chair back on four legs and leaned in. A dark shadow was cast over his face by his hat.

“We haven’t caught a single whale in over a month.” His tone was sinister, each word growled out in hatred. But as quick as he was to show it, he hid it again behind a cool and collected demeanor.

“Ye can imagine how my profits are doing.” He added with an annoyed acceptance to his situation as he leaned back and waved his cigar. The bartender brought over two more mugs, one for him and one for the man. The latter didn't touch it, however, nor look down at it as he kept his attention on the captain who happily chugged his.

“What's wrong, your supply running low?” He asked, a bit sarcastically.

The mug was quickly removed from Dredge's face, “Running low? Ha, there couldn't be a richer source of gold.” he scowled, “It's that damn mer.”

The corner of the man's lips curled upward for only a split second, “A mer? What do you mean by that?” he asked while bringing his mug up to his face to drink more appropriately than his newfound 'friend’.

“Mermaid, merman, whichever the blasted thing is, it keeps freeing all my catches!” the captain huffed out before looking off in the distance as he muttered, “Hmmph, the royals weren't crazy after all.”

“So, you’ve seen this… _mer_?”

“You think this is some made-up fairy tale? Oh ho, those things are _real_. I see the damn thing nearly every time I set sail. And it's the same one too.” Dredge complained.

His finger tapped the table, “Every time I harpoon any one of those fat beasts, that slippery thing appears and ruins my day. It protects them like a dog.”

“Has this happened to you recently?”

Dredge huffed again, “I just got back from such an experience. No whale on my ship, just a big ol’ pile of disappointment.

It happened just this morning, actually…

* * *

_“Thar she blows!” a sailor up in the crow's nest shouted out as he rang the bell. The signal sent his crewmates below into a fury as they worked to set course towards the target._

_“Get yer heads out of yer arses, men!” Captain Dredge hollered from the wheel, “Turn those sails off the port bow, we got ourselves a big one!”_

_The whaling ship adjusted its course and picked up speed. Ahead was a pod with one whale in particular further back than the rest of its members. It surfaced to breathe, a huge gust of wind and mist spurting upward from its blowhole before it dove back under._

_Dredge removed the spyglass from his eye, “Hurry lads before it gets away!” He commanded as he rushed down to the deck and toward the bow to hang over the railing beside the gun where one of his sailors was adjusting its sights._

_“Steady,” Dredge said, “Take aim, and…” He held his hand up as he waited for the whale to near the surface again. Once it did, he threw it down with a forceful shout. “Fire!”_

_A harpoon tethered to a rope shot out of the gun. With precision aiming, its sharp spear pierced the blubber of the whale’s back and hooked in deep. The whale cried out as it tried to dive, but with the harpoon attached to the ship, it could only pull the weight along._

_“Get another one out there!” Dredge commanded as several more harpoons were released and embedded into the blubber of their victim. The ship was nearly anchored into the whale and Dredge began to laugh in delight of what he could only assume was going to be a long-awaited catch. Then, all of a sudden, one of the ropes were cut. Not severed on their end nor by any of his men, but near the whale where it was underwater. The smile on his face vanished in an instant._

_He peered out over the deck and into the deep ocean. Another rope was severed and without the weight pulling it from either side, it sprang back to float helplessly below the ocean’s surface._

_“It’s back.” Dredge whispered like a distant memory. “The mer! Man yer stations!” He shouted and his men scrambled about to collect their weapons. A streak of blue swam at lightning speeds toward the ship and Dredge watched it pass underneath._

_“Keep yer sights on it!” He ordered as he ran to the other side to find it again._

_“There it is!”_

_“Off the starboard bow!”_

_He saw it; like a blue light just under the surface. It circled them a football field’s length away and upon seeing this, Dredge’s cold heart sank._

_“Grab onto something!” He shouted, but it was a bit too late. Suddenly, the ship steered to the side as the ocean waves pushed it in a whirlpool. The whalers fell down onto the slippery deck as Dredge managed to keep himself relatively steady._

_The ship was turned facing away from their catch. The waters at the command of the mer kept them rotating port bow and with the whale still pulling them forward, they quickly found themselves losing balance as the deck got ever so closer to the ocean’s surface._

_“We’re going to capsize, cut the rope, cut the rope!” Dredge yelled as he made his way over to the gun where another of his crewman was doing just that. He worked vehemently against the rope with a dull blade, the force of the current only hindering his success. But just before gravity could take all that they knew, they were freed and the ship sprang upright with its sails bringing some of the water with it. It fell down like rain upon the weary sailors._

_Still, they rotated; the men on deck teetering back and forth as they tried to keep their footing and their lunches in their stomachs. Their faces turned pale like fresh crewmates without sea legs._

_“Get us out of this death trap!” Dredge ordered with all the power of his lungs as he made his way back to the wheel._

_The sails were adjusted and he fought with the waters to escape their push and pull. In his efforts, the ship succeeded in the battle and he was free to sail as he commanded._

_Along the port was the mer, no longer a light in the water as it mocked Dredge with each tail-flick above the waves. Further ahead was their whale and with a final goodbye tail flick, it dove under and out of sight._

_Dredge's face boiled red with anger and he let out a battle cry as he stole a rifle from the rack and fired it out into the sea._

_The mer dived under before any of the bullets could land a hit, leaving Dredge and his crew with empty hands…_

_And empty wallets._

* * *

__Dredge sat back in his seat as he tapped the ashes off his cigar once more.

“A riveting story.” The man commented, his fingers entwined together on the table in front of him.

Dredge scoffed at him, “Yeah, I got a lot of ‘em.” His eyes were off in the distance, not focused on anything.

“You seem to have a bit of bad luck with this mer.” The man continued with idle talk as his attention turned to the two Royal guards that entered the tavern. They waited at the door, having met the man's gaze.

“Pfft, more like a curse if ya ask me.” Dredge replied.

The man waved them over and then stood from his seat, “Well, if you ask me, one man's curse is another man's profit.”

“What?” The response confused the captain, but when he looked up, the man was accompanied by two guards who proceeded to grab his arm and pull him up out of his chair.

Dredge immediately protested as well did his crew stand to fight against the unruly treatment. But they refused to move another inch toward them as the man pulled out a gun and held it out for all eyes to see.

“This is official Royal business, go back to your drinks.” He told them in fair warning.

“Then who the hell are you?!” The captain spat out and the man turned back to him.

“Khan,” he introduced himself, “General of the Royal army and bodyguard to our Lady herself.

Now move.”

* * *

The large double doors were pushed open and Dredge was shoved inside. He murmured his displeasure whilst adjusting his jacket as Khan walked past him and toward the long table at the northern end of the room. Despite wanting to turn around and share a few words with the guards, his anger was dropped at the sight of the chamber before him.

Following Khan, his mouth hung ajar as he looked around. The ceiling was fully painted in the old tales of the sea, of the Royal family's sailing days and depictions of their encounters with mermaids. Keeping the ovular room up were two sets of four marble pillars, each adorned with carvings of the coral reefs. But what seemed to be the main attraction of the entire room was the enormous aquarium that stretched out all along the northern wall. Lights from behind it illuminated its crystal-clear blue water and reflected it onto the floor and wall.

Dredge had to pull himself away as a voice called him over.

“Beautiful isn't it.” Said the lady sitting at the table on the north end of the room. Khan had already made his way over to her and was now standing at her side with hands held behind his back.

He knew her the second he saw her. Lady Lian, the new matriarch of the land and head of the castle. She sat dressed in elegance at a table filled with a rainbow of food.

“It's called the Grand Hall. A marvelous piece; the rest of the castle was actually built around this room.” She shared with him a little history before offering him a chair.

“Come, take a seat.” Dredge said nothing as he sat down. Best to bite the tongue when speaking to a royal.

A wine glass was brought to her lips, “I understand you're having some _difficulties_ within your profession.”

“You could say that.”

She chuckled, “If you haven't already guessed, my family is quite fond of the ocean. We've understood it better than anyone else, even knew its secrets when others would pass them off as myths.”

She eyed her drink before taking another sip, “One _myth_, in particular, I'm passionate about are the mer. They're graceful, beautiful, _powerful_.” After saying this her eyes met his.

Dredge glanced up at Khan before replying, “So what do you want from me?”

She smiled, “I think we can help each other here. I scratch your back, you scratch mine—as the saying goes.”

“You wanna make a deal?”

“And here it is,” she sat her drink down and placed both arms on the table before sitting up straight. “You capture me that mer, and I'll pay you enough to cover your losses of this past month and then some. Not only that, but you'll be free to go about your whaling as you see fit.”

“All that for just one mermaid?”

“Or merman, whichever. I don't discriminate.” She shrugged as she leaned back in her seat. “So, do we have a deal?”

This time Dredge smiled, “Well it looks like I don't really have a choice, now do I.” he replied jokingly, “Ye got yourself a deal.”

She waved a finger, “Excellent. Guards, show our friend to the door please.” She ordered before addressing to Dredge once more as he stood to leave, “We'll meet at the docks in a few hours.”

“I’ll have me ship ready before ye arrive.”

She watched him leave with a smile before going back to fiddle with her glass again as she relished the fact that her dreams were finally coming true. It was her loyal bodyguard’s voice that brought her back down to the Realm as he appeared in her sight and gave her a bow.

“I’ve already begun to rally some guards to assist me in the open waters. I’ll make sure the sailor doesn’t pull any tricks.” He reassured, pleased to see his Lady filled with such delight.

“Good. I trust you won’t fail me.”

“You have my word, my Lady.”

And as Khan left to complete his task, Lian stood from her chair and walked over to the aquarium. It seemed empty now, filled with but a few tropical fish. But soon, she prayed, she'd have a new specimen to added to the tank. One where it would not only grant her renown and respect but power as well.

* * *

Her foot tapped impatiently as her highness waited on the docks next to her carriage; eyes fixated on the white sails of the whaling ship approaching. Grey skies promised a storm as a few rolls of thunder sounded far off on the horizon. And as a strong gust of wind blew in from the sea, Lian adjusted her coat to shield her neck from the bitter chill.

As soon as Dredge's whaling ship pulled in and the plank was thrown down, she raced onboard followed by a few of her guards.

“Where is it?” she demanded as the sailors stepped aside for their captain to take her attention.

“Right here, as promised.” He told her, leading her over to Khan where he stood watch over the fishnet bundle tied to one of the masts. Trapped inside the net was the mer; blue scaled tail lying still on the deck while its’ bare flat chest rose and fell with slow, deep breaths.

“A _merman_.” She confirmed as she knelt down to get a better look. Half-lidded eyes gazed back at her's as her hand drifted over his scales.

“It wasn't easy getting him. And tranquilizer darts are not cheap. I expect my payment upfront.” Dredge told them as he held out his hand.

“And I expect you to be patient, as I have been.” Lian retorted as she stood. With a snap of her finger, her guards joined them carrying a small tank filled with water and covered by a silk blanket depicting the Royal sigil. They removed the sheet and placed the merman inside, recovering it to conceal him during transportation.

“Well done, captain. You've done your part well and as per our agreement…” a bag of coins was revealed on her person and she tossed it into Dredge’s awaiting palms. His scowl turned into a smile.

“Spend it wisely.” She bid farewell as she and Khan exited the boat.

* * *

The fish scattered the moment his body hit the water as bubbles raced to the surface like a cloud of krill. As he sank, his eyes blinked open to the blinding light of the aquarium; his mind slowly coming out of the fog that had kept him in a daze. Pushing past the numbness, he sluggishly fixed his orientation and glanced around to figure out where he was.

The water was clearer than what he was used to and didn't smell of salt like the sea. It confused him to see so many reflections and he slowly swam toward them curious as to why. His webbed hand touched the clear solid surface first, his own face coming into view as he examined the glass. Suddenly and unexpectedly, another face appeared causing him to reel back.

“He's _beautiful_.” Lady Lian gushed as she stared into his near glowing silver eyes that darted to and fro.

He was exactly as her ancestors described: humanoid from the waist up with a long slender, fish-like tail. However, he seemed to be more fish-like then she had originally thought; sporting webbed hands and sharp pectoral fins along the back of his forearms. But despite the more animalistic appearance, from what her ancestors recorded, mers held a human-like intelligence. And it could be seen clearly on his face.

He turned and swam away from her; hands kept at his sides as his powerful tail pushed him through the water. Silvery blue hair flowed behind him, its length reaching past the start of his equally beautiful tail.

It was as blue as the deep ocean with a gold tip and white belly. The colors blended into one another like an artist’s painting, creating various azure shades as his scales glistened like tiny crystals under the light of the aquarium.

The sight of him was more than she could ever imagine and she found herself unwilling to look away. However, despite her collection now complete, there was something still missing.

“You said he wasn’t carrying anything with him when you caught him?” She whispered, not wanting the merman to hear.

“Yes, my Lady. There were no signs of a trident.” Khan replied, mirroring her in volume. “Nor did I see any signs of power as the captain had described, but he was extremely difficult to catch nonetheless.”

The mer swam to the far side of the tank before having to stop and double back; his movement fluid and graceful. As he approached his captors, he picked up speed to avoid having to look at their unnerving gaze. He only allowed them a quick glare before dashing off to keep the distance.

“I beginning to think that scummy seafarer has just been exaggerating.” He added with a scowl.

“Have faith, Khan. Mermaids _are _powerful creatures and their male equivalents are rumored to be even more so on top of being rare.” She glanced at him, “You said it was difficult to catch him, that means he’s smart—or at least clever. And if he’s clever, then he probably won’t show us anything he wouldn’t want us to see.”

“How do you plan to go about this then, my Lady?”

“Give it time.” She replied with a confident grin. “Time will be our friend.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is another story I was working on during the long wait of chapter two of Champions of the Realm. I tend to skip around to different plots when I get stuck. But this idea was something that had been brewing all summer and who would have guessed it couples with the fact that we are actually getting a mermaid Ying skin next patch?
> 
> I was kind of disappointed that Jenos didn’t get a merman skin since he’d be a perfect candidate alongside Ying. Buuuut, then I heard about one of the devs saying that they’d like a certain male celestial to get a merman skin and Thunderbrush said if enough people request it—be it via memes or just plain demands—and make it a topic within the community, they might consider making it. The memes are already coming in hot, so let's hope! I would love to see my smol space boi get a merman skin!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Leave a kudos or a comment if you’d like!


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